In Action: CH-47 Chinook Helicopter

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter lifts a Boeing X-40A Space Maneuver Vehicle. It is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Chinook has a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three external-cargo hooks. Photo: Reuters

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter takes off after dropping off troops at Combat Outpost. With a top speed of 170 knots (196 mph, 315 km/h) the helicopter is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s. Photo: Reuters

Pilots of the Georgia Army National Guard prepare their CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary roles are troop movement, artillery emplacement and battlefield resupply. Photo: Reuters

A boat and a soldier are deployed from a Washington Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter during an airshow demonstration. Photo: AP

Soldiers are deployed from a Washington Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter during an airshow demonstration. Photo: AP

Soldiers refuel a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Photo: Reuters

Static electricity discharges from the rotor blades of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter as it drops a sling load. Photo: Reuters

Light emanates from the inside of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Photo: Reuters

A gunner on board a US CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

A Canadian Army crewman looks out of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in forward fire base. Photo: Reuters

A Canadian Army crewman stands inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter flying over Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters

Afghan children are seen near the Wreckage of Chinook helicopter shot down last week at Tangi Valley in Wardak province some 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. The Chinook helicopter that insurgents shot down over the weekend burst into flames before hitting the ground, leaving wreckage scattered on both sides of a river in eastern Afghanistan and killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans, witnesses told The Associated Press. The crash of the Chinook CH-47, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, was the deadliest single loss for US forces in the nearly 10-year Afghan war. Photo: AP

A part of a gun stamped "Made in Germany" is seen among the wreckage of Chinook helicopter. Photo: AP